


It's Not a Date

by DarkAliceLilith



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-10-31 20:11:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10906620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkAliceLilith/pseuds/DarkAliceLilith
Summary: No matter how many times his siblings called it a date, he was just having dinner with Magnus. Just dinner.





	It's Not a Date

**Author's Note:**

> This feels kinda rushed to me and I'm sorry. Written for Shadowhunters AU Monday's neighbors prompt.

“Damn it,” Alec mumbled as he bent down to pick his keys off the ground while trying to keep a hold of the paper bag with groceries in his arm. He heard a whistle and stood back up, glancing towards the stairs to see his neighbor Magnus watching him. Alec just rolled his eyes and smiled as he unlocked the door. “Hello, Magnus.”

“Hello,” Magnus greeted as he walked to his own apartment. “Did you need help with bringing groceries in?”

Alec shook his head. “This is it today. Jace is out of town visiting that annoyance at their college this weekend so it’s just me, myself and I.”

Magnus chuckled. “Well, I just happen to be free this weekend if you wanted someone to have dinner with. I’m a pretty good cook.”

Alec tried to hid his blush. “I uh-I think I would like that. That would be much better than ordering takeout.”

“Great! Come over around seven tomorrow night?”

Alec nodded. “I’ll be there.” He walked into his apartment and closed the door, setting the paper bag on the counter so he could pull his phone out of his pocket. He clicked into the group chat with Jace and Isabelle, sending them ‘Magnus invited me to dinner tomorrow night.’

He barely set his phone down when he got a response. ‘HE ASKED YOU ON A DATE!?’ Isabelle had typed and Alec rolled his eyes before saying it wasn’t a date, it was just dinner at Magnus’. His sister said that counted as a date and Alec immediately regretted saying something, especially when both of his siblings new about the crush he had on his neighbor. So he proceeded to ignore his phone while he put the groceries away, finding that he was now feeling anxious about dinner.

Alec was sitting on the couch catching up in one of his Netflix shows with a bowl of ramen on his lap when he heard his phone go off. He hit pause and picked his phone. “Hello.”

“So, date with Magnus tomorrow?”

Alec rolled his eyes. “It’s dinner, not a date. Took you long enough to say something.”

“Magnus has had his sights on you for awhile, this is not just a date,” Jace said. “And I’ve been busy. We found a book with 365 different se-”

“I don’t want to know!” Alec interrupted. “Seriously, keep that to yourself.”

“Izzy doesn’t care.”

“Then go call Izzy,” Alec said, taking another bite of his ramen. “I don’t know why you two seem to think it’s date. You’re not home and he offered to have dinner with me.”

“So he’s cooking for you?” 

“Yes.”

“Alec, it’s a date.”

“No it’s not. And who says Magnus likes me like that? He flirts with everyone.” 

“Not me.”

“Okay, almost everyone.”

“Whatever. Call me and tell me how your ‘dinner’ goes. I need to get back to this book, we’re on posi-”

“Bye!” Alec hollered before hanging up and shaking his head. He went back to his show, but couldn’t stop thinking about what both Jace and Isabelle had said. 

Alec spent most of the next day nervous. He couldn’t stop thinking about dinner and the fact that he was going to be alone with his neighbor for more than the few minutes they see each other in the hallway. He paced around his apartment and nervously started to clean just so he had something to do.

Finally, he walked down the grocery store around the block a few hours before dinner, deciding that he didn’t want to show up empty handed at Magnus’. He knew Magnus liked to drink and walked around the alcohol section feeling overwhelmed. 

“Don’t know what to get?”

Alec jumped, not realizing anyone else was in the aisle with him. He turned to see a woman slightly older than him and wearing scrubs. She was reaching up to grab a six pack of hard cider from the shelf and set it in her cart. She looked oddly familiar.

“You’re one of Magnus’ friends, aren’t you?”

The woman nodded. “One of his best friends actually,” She replied, holding a hand out. “I’m Catarina.”

“Alec,” He replied, shaking her hand. “Do you think you could help me?”

“Of course.”

“You see, Magnus asked me over for dinner and I didn’t want to arrive empty handed.”

Catarina chuckled softly. “Ah, I remember you now. You’re that cute neighbor he keeps going on about.”

Alec could feel himself start to blush and looked down at the ground. “He-he talks about me?”

“All the time,” Catarina said and grabbed a wine bottle off the shelf. “Here. Magnus’ taste in alcohol tend to be quite expensive, but I think he would like this one. It’s cheap, but it’s good.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem. Have a good dinner, Alec.” She gave him a smile before leaving the aisle and leaving Alec standing there with a wine bottle in his hands. He stood there for a moment longer before making his way to the register. He paused by the flowers and stared at the roses for a long moment before shaking his head. No matter what anyone said, he didn’t want to make assumptions.

In the twenty minutes before he was supposed to be at Magnus’ Alec spent staring blankly at the TV. He didn’t know if he should show up early, or exactly at seven. He didn’t want to seem too eager about this dinner. Which is what he was still calling it. It was just dinner, not a date. His sibling kept teasing him and he eventually turned his phone off so he could ignore them. 

Finally seven rolled around and Alec grabbed the wine bottle and made his way next door. He knocked a couple of times and stood there nervously as he waited for Magnus to open the door. 

When the door did open a few seconds later, Alec found himself staring. Magnus looked gorgeous and Alec a part of him was starting to wonder if this was in fact a date. He presented the wine to Magnus, the bottle almost slipping from his fingers. “I uh-I got you this,” He said as Magnus accepted the bottle, looking up at Alec in surprise. “I don’t know if this is any good cause I’m not much a drinker. I usually have to watch over Jace and Izzy when they drink, but I knew you like this kind of stuff and I ran into your friend at the grocery store and she said you would probably like this.”

Magnus chuckled softly and stepped aside to let Alec in. “Thank you, Alexander. I’m not quite done with dinner yet, it should be ready in the next few minutes. Would like you something to drink while we wait?”

“Water is fine.”

Magnus nodded, setting the bottle on the counter while he got Alec something to drink. Alec stood there and looked around Magnus’ front room. He had seen glimpses of Magnus’ from the hallway, but this was the first time being in the other man’s apartment. He walked over to a bust sitting near the window.

“I got that in Italy,” Magnus said, handing Alec a cup.

“You’ve been to Italy?”

Magnus nodded. “I like to travel. What about you?”

Alec shook his head. “Jace and I went to Mexico on Spring Break once, but it was cut short because of a storm, so that’s about it for me. My parents travel a lot though. I was usually left in charge of my siblings when they left.”

“And they never took you for a family vacation? What a shame.”

Alec just shrugged. “We’ve been on vacations, just never anything out of the country. Last year, for the big family reunion, everyone decided to travel to Hawaii.”

“That’s a nice vacation spot.”

Alec nodded. “What has been your favorite place you visited so far?”

Magnus seemed to think for a long moment before smiling and saying, “London. I met a lot of good friends there.” A timer went off and Magnus excused himself to check on dinner. “Okay, looks to be done. You can have a seat at the table and I’ll bring this out.”

“Do you need any help?”

“I’ve got it, Alec. Help yourself to some breadsticks.”

Alec sat down at the table and immediately noticed the lit candles on the table. The lighting near the table was low too, making it look more romantic. Magnus came over with the food and set it in the middle. “I decided to go simple and make spaghetti.”

“Well, I do love spaghetti.”

Magnus smiled and took a seat. There was wine glass in front of each of them and Magnus offered some from the bottle Alec had gotten. “You sure you don’t want to try it?”

Alec pondered for a moment. “A little bit.”

Magnus nodded and poured a couple of sips in the glass. “So, how was your day, Alexander?”

“Fine,” Alec replied. “Got the apartment cleaned up. Jace and I usually do it together, but I thought why not? I didn’t have anything planned but dinner. How was yours?”

“I went book shopping today with a friend before getting dinner started. Found some really old books that I have been looking for since forever.”

“Yeah, I saw your bookshelves. I don’t think I even own that many and I love to read too.”

Magnus just smiled as he dished out the food. “Well, you are always welcomed to borrowing some if you want. I only ask you don’t ruin them anymore than they already are.”

“I’m very careful with books,” Alec said before taking a bit of spaghetti. “Oh, this is really good, Magnus. Wow.”

“Thank you. I don’t cook very often so I was hoping it was good. I usually get take out on my way home from work.”

“Why not just join us for dinner? We usually have more than enough for two people.”

“I appreciate the thought, but I tend to get home very late at times.” Suddenly, a ball of fur leaped onto the table, startling Alec. “Chairman!” Magnus reached out and grabbed the cat, putting him back on the floor. “I’m so sorry about that. Usually it’s just me and Chairman Meow for dinner, so I tend to leave a bowl of catfood for him.”

Alec reached down and pat the cat on the head. “It’s okay. He’s very cute.”

They fell into a discussion about their work and family as they finished dinner. Alec insisted he help clean up the dishes even though Magnus said that he would get to it later. So there they stood by the sink, Alec washing while Magnus dried. “Would you like to stay for a movie?”

Alec handed over a plate and nodded. “I don’t have anywhere to be. What did you have in mind?”

Magnus shrugged. “There’s a Netflix full of options. What do you like to watch?”

“Well, Jace normally puts on these really dumb comedies and I usually sit there and read a book, but I do tend to watch a lot of sci-fi when I’m alone.”

“Have you seen Mad Max: Fury Road?”

Alec smiled. “It’s one of my favorites.”

Magnus returned the smile. “Mine too.”

Alec found the movie while Magnus made up a small bowl of popcorn. When he came out, he set the bowl on the coffee table and sat down next to Alec. It was a small couch, not leaving much room between them. Not that Alec minded.

The movie started and they started to watch it, Alec occasionally taking glances at Magnus out of the corner of his eyes, and then blushing when he found himself caught. About fifteen minutes into the movie, Magnus leaned over and Alec turned his head, his heart beating wildly when he realized how close they were.

“I’ve really enjoyed tonight, Alexander,” Magnus whispered. Alec’s eyes flickered down to the other man’s lips and he imagined kissing him. 

“Me too,” Alec said. There was an explosion on screen, but he found himself unable to tear his eyes away from Magnus. “Thank you for inviting me.”

Magnus smiled and Alec felt his heart beat even faster. “Thank you for coming.”

Without thinking, Alec leaned in and pressed his lips to Magnus’. He felt Magnus immediately freeze up and he pulled himself back. “I’m sorry,” He blurted out, scooting away from the other man, feeling embarrassment flooding over him. “I-I shouldn’t have done that. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m sorry.” He started to get up, but a hand on his wrist pulled him back onto the couch. He looked down at the floor for a moment before he turning his head to look at Magnus. 

“Don’t be sorry,” Magnus said softly, moving his hand up to Alec’s cheek and gently caressing it with his thumb. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you for months. I just wasn’t really expecting it.” He dropped his hand to Alec’s shoulder and sighed softly. “To be honest, I wanted tonight to be a date, but you looked so nervous when you showed up. I backtracked and just wanted you to be comfortable. I really like you, Alec, and I didn’t want to scare you off.”

Alec’s heart began to beat wildly in his chest. “I really like you too, Magnus.” Magnus smiled at him and Alec could help but to lean closer again. “Can I kiss you again?”

Magnus nodded and then they were kissing again. Alec wrapping an arm around Magnus to pull him closer. He was inexperienced, and he was sure Magnus could tell that he was inexperienced but the other man didn’t say anything. 

He didn’t know how long they had been kissing, but they were both smiling when they finally broke apart. Magnus reached forward for his wine glass before leaning against Alec again. They finished the movie before agreeing it was getting late and Magnus walked him to the door.

“We should do this again.”

Alec nodded. “And this time, I’ll cook for you.”

Magnus smiled and leaned up to press a kiss to Alec’s cheek. “I would like that. Goodnight, Alexander.”

Alec pressed his lips to Magnus’. “Goodnight, Magnus.”


End file.
